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Prohibition  Amendment  Defective 
Defeated  in  Congress  by  Majority 
Life.  Liberty.  Peace.  Religion.  Truth 
Industry.  Commerce.  Revenue.  Exports 
The  People  and  their  Constitution 
Modes   and   Problems   of   Ratification 


*Omnia  Praesumuntur  Contra  Spoliatorem. 
By  Emanuel  M.  Beckerman 

OF   the   ILLINOIS   BAR 

Published  by 

SIMEON    J.    BECKERMAN 

113  Canal  Street 

NEW  YORK 


I 


Copyright,  1919,  by 
Emanuel  M.  Beckerman 

BRONX,     N.     Y. 


Copyrights  for  Great  Britain  and  the 

Dominion  of  Canada  pending. 

All  rights  reserved. 


Price  $2.00— Postpaid  $2.25 

Address: 

SIMEON  J.  BECKERMAN 

113  Canal  Street 

New  York 


iSrhiratrb  tn  iBmrrrnrr  to  tijr 

Mrmarg  of  tl]r  Antl^or'a  3Fatl]rr 

Anb  ti)r  PubltBlirr'a  <Sranbfati|rr 

Visb  Aaron  ISrn  AUxanbrr  Srrkrrinan 

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Anft  a  (^rrat-CSranbfatl^rr 
''^t  ixtctttth  tl\t  SInjBtirr  of  Mft  Uorb" 


879516 


CONTENTS. 

PACE 

The  Prohibition  Amendment 7 


Introductory   Ellements 9 

I.     On  the  Title 11 

II.     On  the  Resolution 13 

III.  Evil  of  Evils 15 

IV.  Specifications 17 

V.     The   Preamble 19-20 

VI.     On  the  Article  XVIII 21-26 

VII.     Violation  of  Article  One 27 

VIII.     Defeated   in  Congress 29-33 

IX.     The  Unconstitutional  Era 35-60 

X.     Regardless  of  Referendum 61-66 


SIXTY-FIFTH  CONGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

AT    THE    SECOND    SESSION 

Begun  and  held  at  the  City  of  Washington  on  Monday,  the 
third  day  of  December,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
seventeen. 

JOINT  RESOLUTION 
Proposing  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States. 
Resolved   by   the   Senate   and   House   of  Representatives 
of  the    United   States   of  America    in   Congress   assembled 
(two-thirds   of  each  House  concurring  therein).  That   the 
following   amendment   to   the   Constitution    be,   and   hereby 
is,  proposed  to  the  States,  to  become  valid  as  a  part  of  the 
Constitution     when    ratified     by    the    legislatures    of    the 
several  States  as  provided  by  the  Constitution: 
Article  — . 
"Section  1.  After  one  year  from  the  ratification  of  thia 
article  the   manufacture,   sale,   or   transportation   of   intoxi- 
cating liquors  within,  the  importation  thereof  into,  or  the 
exportation   thereof  from   the   United   States   and   all   terri- 
tory subject   to   the  jurisdiction   thereof  for   beverage   pur- 
poses is  hereby  prohibited. 

"Sec.  2.  The  Congress  and  the  several  States  shall  have 
concurrent  power  to  enforce  this  article  by  appropriate 
legislation. 

"Sec.  3.  This  article  shall   be  inoperative  unless  it  shall 
have  been  ratified  as  an  amendment  to  tiie  Constitution  by 
the  legislatures   of   the  several   Slates,   as   provided   in   the 
Constitution,    within    seven    years    from    the    date    of    the 
submission  hereof  to  the  States  by  the  Congress." 
Champ  Clark, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
Thos.   R.   Marshall, 
Vice  President  of  the  United  States  and 
President  of  the  Senate. 
I    certify    that    this    Joint    Resolution    originated    in    the 
Senate. 
COPY.  James  M.  Baker,  Secretary. 


INTRODUCTORY 
Elements  of  the  Amendment 

The  so-called  National  Prohibition  Amend- 
ment to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
an  exact  copy  of  which  is  reproduced  on  the 
preceding  page,  consists  of  the  following  ele- 
ments: 

1.  Title. 

2.  Resolution. 

3.  Article. 

Vital  defects  are  pointed  out  in  the  suc- 
ceeding chapters,  showing  the  amendment  in 
question  to  be  constitutionally  unconstitu- 
tional. 


CHAPTER  I 
On  the  Title 

The  TITLE  omits  to  set  forth  the  subject  of 
the  amendment.  It  fails  to  state  whether  it 
pertains  to  prohibition  or  anything  else. 

Provisions  not  covered  by  the  title  are  void. 

Measures  which  would  not  be  discovered 
by  reading  the  title  only  are  void. 

It  cannot  be  used  to  extend  or  to  restrain 
positive  provisions  contained  in  the  body  of 
the  Act. 

A  complete  title  has  the  value  of  a  title  ! 
only,  but  if  incomplete  it  has  no  value  at  all  | 
and  renders  the  act  also  worthless.  I 


11 


CHAPTER  II 

DEVOID  IN  RESOLUTE  MOTIVE. 
Resolution  and  Article  Omit  Asserting 

Pretensions  of  Amending 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Words  "of  the  united  states"  Lacking. 

The  Resolution  gives  no  resolute  motive  for 
the  proposal  of  the  Prohibition  Amendment. 

Neither  in  the  body  of  the  Resolution  nor  in 
the  body  of  the  Article  is  any  mention  made, 
affirmatively  or  otherwise,  that  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  Stales  is  so  endeavored  to 
be  amended. 

These  pertinent  omissions  coupled  with  the 
defect  in  title  constitute  causes  sufficient  to 
vitiate  the  enactment. 


13 


CHAPTER  III 
Evils  of  Evils 

The  National  Prohibition  Amendment  may 
be  characterized  as  an  evil  of  evils  and  as  an 
instrument  of  oppression  and   high  treason: 

First,  because  it  undermines  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States  in  its  entirety. 

Second,  because  it  abolishes  the  sovereign- 
ty of  the  States  and  transforms  that  of  the 
United  States. 

Third,  because  it  subjects  the  people  to  a 
form  of  tyrannic  government. 

Fourth,  because  it  converts  the  Magna 
Charta  into  a  piece  of  "scrap  paper." 

Fifth,  because  it  makes  a  farce  of  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence. 

Sixth,  because  it  creates  a  barratrous  stir- 
ring up  of  law  suits  and  quarrels  amongst  the 
people  within  the  several  States,  and  is  un- 
American. 

15 


CHAPTER  IV 

Specifications 

In  substantiation  of  the  averments  set  forth 
in  the  preceding  chapter  reference  is  made 
and  attention  invited  to  the  direct  and  most 
dangerous  conflict  with,  and  censurable  vio- 
lation of,  the  (Constitution  of  the  United  States 
by  the  Prohibition  Amendment,  more  partic- 
ularly, of  the  following  specifications: 

Firstly,  violation  of  The  Preamble. 

Secondly,  violation  of  First  part  of  Clause 
5  of  Section  IX,  Article  1, 

Tliirdly,  violation  of  Article  V. 

Fourthly,  violation  of  First  part  of  Amend- 
ment 1. 

Fifthly,  violation  of  Amendments  IX 
and  X. 

Sixthly,  violation  of  Article  V  and  Amend- 
ment X  in  conjunction. 
17 


CHAPTER  V 
The  Preamble  and  Object 

The  object  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  is  summarized  in  the  preamble  there- 
of, forming  the  resolute  elements  and  basis 
of  it. 

Tlie  object  of  the  Preamble  is  to  name  the 
parties  to  the  Constitution,  and  to  declare  its 
meaning.  It  is  evident  from  the  copy  herein, 
that  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  was 
established  not  by  the  States  in  their  soverigii 
capacities,  but,  as  the  Preamble  declares,  by 
tlie  People. 

Copy  of  Preamble. 

"We,  the  people  of  the  united  states, 
in  order  to  [IstJ  form  a  more  perfect  union, 
[2nd.]  establish  justice,  [3rd.]  insure  domes- 

19 


20  QUO  WARRANTO 

tic  tranquillity,  [4th.]  provide  for  the  com- 
mon defence,  [5th.]  promote  the  general  wel- 
fare, [6th.]  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and 
establish  this  Constitution  for  the  United 
States  of  America." 

This  Preamble  has  been  constantly  referred 
to  by  statesmen  and  jurists  to  aid  them  in  ex- 
pounding the  provisions  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  VI 
On  the  Article 

The  Article  constituting  the  National  Pro- 
hibition Amendment  is  wholly  inconsistent 
with,  and  contrary  to,  the  conditions  expressed 
in  the  preamble,  is  reactionary  to,  and  in- 
compatible with,  the  order  of  government  de- 
signed by  tlie  CONSTITUTION  of  the  united 
STATES,  and  owing  to  the  following,  among 
other  reasons,  seems  unconstitutional  per  se: 

1st. — It  forms  not  a  more  perfect  union  but 
on  the  contrary,  tends  to  make  the  union  im- 
perfect, as  evidenced  by  several  State  Legis- 
latures refusing  to  join  in  ratification. 

2nd. — It  disestablishes  justice  since  it  over- 
throws an  established  industry  involving,  ac- 
cording to  the  U.  S.  Government  Census,  more 
than  One  and  One-lialf  Billions  of  Dollars. 

21 


22  QUO  WARRANTO 

3rd. — It  insures  not  domestic  tranquillity, 
but  on  the  contrary,  creates  strife  and  con- 
tention, as  is  apparent  from  the  overwhelming 
protestations  by  the  people  of  many  of  the 
States  of  which  the  Legislatures  even  acqui-  1 
esced  in  ratification. 

4th. — It  provides  not  for  the  common  de- 
fence, but  on  the  contrary,  reduces  the  chan- 
nels thereof  in  the  abolishing  of  a  substantial 
revenue  essential  therefor;  the  amount  in  rev- 
enue, for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30, 
1918,  from  wine,  beer  and  distilled  liquors, 
exclusive  of  imports,  netted  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment the  sum  of  $443,839,544.98;  the 
amount  estimated  for  the  current  year  from 
the  same  source  which  had  been  incorporated 
in  the  revenue  bill  then  pending  in  Congress 
and  which  had  to  be  automatically  eliminated 
upon  the  unexpected  ratification  news,  was 
One  Billion  One  Hundred  Million  Dollars. 

5th. — It  promotes  not  the  general  welfare, 
but  on  the  contrary,  curtails  it  in  depriving 
such  of  the  freemen  as  care  to,  from  earning 


ON  THE  ARTICLE  23 

a  livelihood  in  an  industry  conceded  legiti- 
mate since  the  creation  of  the  world.  Accord- 
ing to  the  U.  S.  Census,  about  500,000  peo- 
ple are  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  dis- 
tilled and  fermented  spirits,  and  to  them  are 
paid  in  wages  $600,000,000  annually.  About 
100,000  American  soldiers  who  were  work- 
ing in  the  liquor  trade,  some  bartenders,  por- 
ters, waiters;  some  worked  in  breweries,  dis- 
tilleries, etc.;  their  employers  are  expected  to 
give  the  boys  their  old  jobs  back,  but  how  is 
it  possible  since  the  business  is  to  be  put  out 
of  commission? 

6th. — It  insecures  the  blessings  of  liberty 
to  ourselves  and  our  posterity  in  forbidding 
the  manufacture,  sale  and,  therefor  the  use, 
of  the  liquid  and  nourishing  product  of  the 
vine,  grain,  vegetables,  and  fruit  essential  for 
the  proper  sustenance  and  prolongation  of 
life,  for  the  pusuit  of  happiness  in  health,  and 
for  the  prevention  of  disease. 

A  resolution  offered  in  General  Assembly 
in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  March  12,  1919, 


24  QUO  WARRANTO 

reads  in  part:  "And,  whereas,  it  believes  that 
this  attempted  amendment  of  the  Constitution 
by  Congress  has  created  the  following  among 
other  grave  questions  of  constitutional  rights, 
to  wit:  in  that  it  does  not  amend  the  system  of 
government  erected  by  said  Constitution,  but 
completely  alters  and  transforms  said  system; 
in  that  the  amendment  invests  Congress  with 
police  powers  in  the  States  hitherto  exclusive- 
ly exercised  by  them,  and  thus  constitutes  a 
revolutionary  transformation  of  the  Govern- 
ment by  reason  of  the  extension  of  the  power 
of  the  United  States,  and  a  compulsory  accept- 
ance by  the  States  of  a  national  police  rule  to 
be  enforced  within  their  borders;  and  in  that 
such  an  amendment  is  contrary  to  the  spirit 
and  system  of  the  dual  form  of  government 
erected  by  the  Constitution,  and  instead  of  be- 
ing a  proper  amendment  of  the  Constitution 
is  destructive  of  it!" 

The  following  Resolution  was  passed 
March  18,  1919,  by  the  General  Assembly  in 
the  State  of  New  Jersey: 


ON  THE  ARTICLE  25 

"Wlicreas,  New  Jersey  remains  firm  in  the 
conviction  that  she  shouUl  not  interfere  with 
the  habit  and  occupations  of  people  in  other 
States,  nor  permit  other  States  to  interfere 
with  the  habits  and  occupations  of  her  people; 
and, 

"Whereas,  New  Jersey  regards  llu-  Iransier 
of  any  police  power  from  the  States  to  the 
general  Government  as  a  radical  departure 
from  one  of  the  essential  principles  upon 
which  this  Republic  wa.>*  founiled:  now.  tliere- 
fore, 

"Be  it  resolved.  That  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  dots  lirreby 
reject  the  resolution  submitted  by  the  Con- 
gress to  the  several  States  for  their  ratification 
as  the  Eighteenth  Amendment  to  the  (Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States."' 

In  many  States  tlic  people  an-  [vtitioning 
llieir  respective  Legislatures  to  revoke  the 
ratifications. 

The  people  in  the  States  of  California, 
Ce]  )rado,  l(lali(»,  Maine.  Miclii^zan.  Missouri. 


26  QUO  WARRANTO 

Nebraska,  Nevada,  New  Mexico,  Ohio,  Ore- 
gon, Utah  and  Washington  are  circulating 
official  petitions  for  a  referendum  under  the 
Constitutions  of  those  States  made  and  pro- 
vided. 

In  some  of  the  States,  like  Ohio,  the  peti- 
tions have  been  completed  by  the  electoral 
and  filed  of  record  with  the  proper  authorities. 

All  This  Is  a  Waste  of  Energy. 
For  the  people  are  constitutionally  vested  and  in 

THEM  reposes  THIS  VERY  RATIFICATION  PREROGATIVE,  RE- 
GARDLESS OF  THE  REFERENDUM.  No  amendment  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  becomes  valid,  nor  attains 
any  force,  nor  power,  nor  effect  without  the  popular  vote 
OF  ratification  by  the  people  first  had  thereon  in 
accordance  with,  and  in  conformity  to.  Amendment  X  to 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

No  portion  of  the  existing  Constitution  can  become 
repealed  by  incident,  implication,  or  "codicil"  of  an 
amendment.  If  the  latter  conflicts  with  the  Constitution  it 
is  ipso  jure  void,  unless  the  conflicted  portion  is  first  re- 
pealed by  a  duly  proposed  amendment  with  that  end  in 
view  and  then  properly  ratified  by  the  Legislatures  in  con- 
formity with  Article  V  as  well  as  by  the  People  in  con- 
formity to  Article  X  of  the  First  Amendments  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States. 

This  enormously  important  organic  prob- 
lem appears  more  fully  in  Chapter  X  of  this 
book. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Violation  of  Clause  5,  Section  IX  of 
Article  One 

The  first  part  of  Clause  5,  Section  IX,  Ar- 
ticle I  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
provides,  "No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on 
articles  exported  from  any  state." 

Tax  is  an  impost  levied  for  the  support  of 
the  government.  Duty  is  a  burden  or  obliga- 
tion to  perform  or  refrain  from  performing. 
"Duty"  and  "right"  are  correlative  terms. 

It  plainly  means  that  nrillicr  shall  an  im- 
post be  levied  nor  an  obligation  laid  on  ar- 
ticles exported.  In  other  words,  articles  for 
exportation  have  been  vested  witli  a  Constitu- 
tional Kight  of  Way  for  dieir  free  and  unbur- 
dened exit  from  any  State. 

Yet  the  National  Prohibition  Amendment 
prohibits  tlie  exportation  of  licjuors  from  any 
and  all  of  th(*  States.  Tiiis  is  as  distinctly 
contrary  to  the  form  of  CI.  5,  Sec.  IX  of  Art.  I, 
first  above  cjuoted  as  is  "right"  distinct  from 
"wrong"  and  seems  unconstitutional  per  sc. 

27 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Prohibition  Amendment  Proposal 

Defeated  in  Congress  by  a  Majority. 

Violation  of  Article  V 

The  first  portion  of  Article  V  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  provides,  "Con- 
gress, whenever  two-thirds  of  both  Houses 
shall  deem  it  necessary,  shall  propose  amend- 
ments to  this  Constitution." 

But  the  Ayes  on  the  passage  of  the  Prohi- 
bition Amendment  Proposal  were  fewer  than 
the  numher  prescribed  for  this  specific  pur- 
pose. The  two-thirds  af fimative-quonun  of 
both  Houses  fell  sliort  of  17  Senators'  and  7 
Representatives'  votes.  Consequently  tlie  pro-i 
posal  was,  in  fact,  constitutionally  de-| 
FEATED  by  a  joint  majority  of  21  negative 
votes  in  addition  to  an  cnlirc  one-third  mcni- 

29 


30  QUO  WARRANTO 

bership  of  both  Houses  voting  unanimously 
against  it. 

In  trials  of  impeachments  a  conviction  may 
be  had  by  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the 
members  present. 

— Clause  6,  Section  III,  Article  One. 

A  majority  of  each  House  constitutes  a 
quorum  to  do  business,  a  smaller  number  may 
adjourn,  but  to  expel  a  member  from  either 
House  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  that 
House  is  required. — §§  1  and  2,  Sec.  V.,  Art. 
One. 

To  pass  a  bill  over  the  President's  veto 
two-thirds  of  each  House  are  required,  but 
all  vetoed  orders  or  resolutions  where  concur- 
rence of  both  Houses  is  required  may  repass 
by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  according  to  rules  in  the  case 
of  a  bill.— §§2  and  3,  Sec.  VII,  Art.  One. 

Two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present  are  re- 
quired to  concur  in  the  ratification  of  a  treaty, 
but  to  confirm  the  appointment  of  an  ambas- 
sador, Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  other 


DEFEATLD  IN  CONGRESS  31 

officers  a  majority  of  the  Senate  suffice. — §2, 
Sec.  II,  Art.  Two. 

The  scope  of  jurisdiction  will  readily  be 
comprehended  in  the  difTcrent  numerical 
strengths  essential  as  a  (jualification  to  form 
a  session  of  Congress  for  the  exercise  of  prop- 
er authority  in  the  transaction  ol  j)ulilic  busi- 
ness. ■ 

1.  Fewer  than  a  quorum  may  adjourn,  etc. 

2.  A    majority    of    rach     House    mak»*    a 
(juorum. 

3.  Enactment  by  a  majority  of  a  (piorum 
present  prevails. 

4.  An   officer   is  conrirnKMl    bv   a    niajorilv 
of  the  Senate. 

5.  A  treaty  is  ratified  by  two-thirds  of  the 
Senators  present. 

6.  In  trials  of  iin|tra(limrnl.  twD-thirds  of 
the  nK'mlx'rs  present  sulliee. 

7.  A  member  is  exp<-lled  bv  two-thirds  of 
a  House. 

H.    \   l)ill   is  passed  over  the  veto  by  two- 
thirds  of  each  House. 


32  QUO  WARRANTO 

9.  A    concurrent    order,    if    vetoed,    may 
be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives. 
10.  But  to  propose  a  constitutional  amend 
ment   two-thirds   of  both   Houses   mus 
deem  it  necessary,  which  is  plain  and 
which  failed  to  take  place  on  the  sub 
mission  of  the  amendment  in  question 

Nothing  is  said  nor  is  mention  made  any 
where  in  the  Resolution  or  the  Amendmen 
that  Congress  "deems  it  necessary"  to  so  pro 
pose  the  amendment  in  question,  and  by  rea 
son  of  this  omission  too  it  seems  devoid  of  con 
stitutional  qualities. 

A  direct  violation  of  Article  V  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  is  evident  in 
postponing  the  giving  of  force  to  the  Prohibi- 
tion Amendment  until  one  year  after  ratifica- 
tion.— Sec.  1. 

A  further  violation  is  evident  in  limiting 
the  time  for  ratification  to  seven  years  after 
submission;  that  is  to  say,  the  measure  is  not 
necessary  for  seven  years  to  come  and  there- 


DEFEATED  IN  CONGRESS  33 

after,   if  imratificd,   it   becomes  outlawred. —  I 
Sec.  3. 

Section  2  appears  iiu^atorN  and  rej)Ui;nanl 
to  American  jurisprudence  and  opens  the 
doors  for  a  jxTiiiancnl  ((pnllicl  ol  authority. 
It  would  establish  friction  between  tlie  Fed- 
eral and  State  tribunals.  It  would  give  the 
village  Constable  the  status  of  a  L .  S.  Marshal 
and  confer  on  the  latter  authority  to  exercise 
local  police  powers  with  or  willutul  tin-  imi- 
tation of  a  Sheriff.  The  most  natural  conse- 
quence of  the  new  conditions  would  be  that 
an  army  of  spies  and  iiKjuisitorial  barrators 
would  cause  the  sovereignty  of  tlu-  people  to 
decay. 


CHAPTER  IX 

The  Constitution  in  Relation  to 

Religion  and  Prohibition 
THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA 

"Truth  springeth  out  of  the  earth; 

And    righteousness    hath    hK)kc(J    down    from    heaven. 

Yea,  the  Lord  will  give  that  which  is  good; 

And  our  land  shall  yield  her  produce." 

—Pp.  LXXXV.  12  and  13. 

The  best  features  of  tlie  eommon  law,  espe- 
cially those  which  regard  the  family  and  so- 
cial relations,  if  not  derived  from,  liave  at 
least  been  improved  by,  religion  and  the 
teaching  of  the  Sacred  Book.  But  the  law 
does  not  attempt  to  enforce  its  precepts  on  the 
ground  of  their  sacred  character.  Those  pre- 
cepts affect  the  heart,  and  achlress  themselves 
to  the  conscience  wliile  tlie  laws  of  the  land 
can  regard  the  outward  ronthirf  onlv. 

;^5 


36  QUO  WARRANTO 

"But  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required 
as  a  qualification  to  any  office  or  public  tnist 
under  the  United  States."  To  add  the  sanc- 
tion of  religious  obligation  to  the  supremacy 
of  the  general  government,  however,  the  Sen- 
ators and  Representatives  of  the  Union,  and 
the  members  of  the  several  State  Legislatures, 
and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of 
the  United  States  and  the  several  States,  are 
bound  by  oath  or  affirmation  to  support  (and 
the  President  swears  to  faithfully  execute 
the  duties  of  his  office  and  to  the  best  of  his 
ability,  preserve,  protect  and  defend)  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  The  Sen- 
ate, when  sitting  as  a  Tribunal  of  Impeach- 
ment, "shall  be  on  oath  or  affirmation." 

Ten  years  prior  to  the  ratification  of  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  the  sanctity 
of  religion  was  recognized  by  the  passage  in 
the  Articles  of  Confederation : 

"And  whereas  it  hath  pleased  the  great 
Governor  of  the  world  to  incline  the  legis- 
latures we  respectively  represent  in  Congress, 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         37 

to  approve  of,  and  to  authorize  us  to  ratify 
the  said  articles  of  confrchM-ation  and  jx-rpot- 
ual  Union." 

Two  years  prior  lliereto,  on  tlie  Fourth 
day  of  July,  1776,  the  sanctimony  of  religion 
was  professed  in  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. That  bravest  of  all  instruments,  in  the 
first  paragrapii  speaks  of  "'Equal  station  to 
which  the  Laws  of  Nature  and  Nature's  God 
entitle  them"  and  concludes:  "And  for  the 
support  of  this  Declaration,  with  a  firm  reli- 
ance on  the  Protection  of  Divine  Providence 
we  mutually  pledge  to  each  other  our  Lives, 
our  Fortunes  and  our  sacred  Honor." 

But  such  was  the  solicitude  of  tlif  people 
on  religion  and  their  deleniiinalion  to  |)re- 
serve  the  utmost  freedom  of  conscience  lliat  it 
was  deemed  proper  to  dej)rive  Congress  of  all 
pretence  to  ever  legislate  on  the  subject.  Thus 
tlie  fust  portion  ol  \lliele  I  ol  ihe  first 
Amendment  to  the  ( lonslilution  of  the  Iriited 
States  provides,  "Congress  siiall  «nake  no  law 

\ 


38  QUO  WARRANTO 

respecting  the   establishment  of  religion,   or 
prohibit  the  free  exercise  thereof." 

The  Prohibition  Amendment  Repeals  This. 

Fermented  wines  and  brandies,  free  from 
adulterations,  are  essentials,  and  are  so  used 
at  home  and  at  the  Synagogue  for  the  sancti- 
fication  of  the  Sabbath,  during  the  passover 
festivals  and  holidays,  at  the  Covenant  of  Con- 
version and  at  marriage  solemnizations  to  the 
end  of  making  the  Acts  binding  in  the  eyes  of 
the  Jewish  religion. 

The  liquor  so  used  in  the  performance  and 
in  the  exercise  of  those  religious  functions  is 
not  used  as  a  mere  imagination,  nor  as  an  al- 
leged symbol,  but  as  a  necessary  food  for  the 
preservation  of  health  and  prolongation  of 
life,  and  in  praising  the  Master  for  the  creat- 
ing of  it. 

".     .     .     That   man    doth    not   live    by   bread   only." 

"Therefore  choose  life,  that  thou  mayest  live." 

"And  thou  shalt  bestow  the  money  for  whatsoever 

thy  soul  desireth,  for  oxen,  or  for  sheep,  or  for  wine,  or 

for   strong   drink,   or   for   whatsoever   thy   soul   asketh 

of  thee."— Deut.  VIII  :3,  XIV  :26,  XXX  :19. 

"So  shall   thy  barns   be  filled  with   plenty,  and  thy 
vats  shall  overflow  with  new  wine." — Prov.  111:10. 


THE  UiNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         39 

"Commune  wih  your  own  heart." 

"And  forget  not  all  his  benefits." 

"And    wine    that    makcth    glad    the    heart    of  man." 
—Psalms  IV :5,  CIII:2,  CIV:15. 

"Corn  shall  meke  the  young  men  flourish  and  new 
wine  the  maids." — Zech.  IX:17. 

"And  Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  broupht  forth 
bread  and  wine;  and  he  was  priest  of  God  the  Most 
High."— Gen.  XIV:  18. 

In  compliance  with  these  precepts  the  Catli- 
olic,  Episcopal  and  Protestant  churches  util- 
ize wine  in  the  Service  of  Communion  and  in 
the  Acts  of  Confirmation. 

Now  comes  the  Prohibition  Amendment 
and  prohibits  the  free  exercise  of  religion  by 
prohibiting  the  manufacture,  etc.,  of  liquors. 

The  contention  of  crime  prevailing  in  sa- 
loons is  neither  true  nor  fair.  The  culprits 
and  scoundrels  are  to  be  looked  for  elsewhere, 
in  other  vocations,  and  no  powerful  search- 
light is  required  to  discover  them.  One  de- 
faulting banker  will  at  once  cause  thousands 
of  families  to  become  destitute,  depriving 
them  of  their  savings  of  a  life  time,  and  fre- 
quently leading  to  llu-ir  suicide 


40  QUO  WARRANTO 

A  tenement  house  lessee,  wholesale  scalper 
in  human  habitation,  charges  in  summer  for 
heat  to  be  furnished  in  winter  but  when  winter 
comes — no  heat.  Any  demonstration  with 
him  results  in  summary  proceeding  for  evic- 
tion and  process  issues  free  of  costs.  He  holds 
a  lease  on  the  entire  tenement  house  for  sev- 
eral years'  tenure  but  he  would  give  no  sub- 
lease to  the  tenant  in  writing,  although  at  the 
time  of  sub-leasing  he  would  promise  the  ten- 
ant peaceful  posession  for  a  year.  The  Legis- 
lature, however,  in  its  wisdom  saw  fit  to  or- 
dain in  the  New  York  Statutes  that  such  prom- 
ise is  not  valid.  The  tenant  is  thus  subjected 
to  a  continuous  state  of  nervousness  at  any 
given  month  at  the  prospect  of  providing  shel- 
ter for  himself  and  family  during  the  month 
rapidly  approaching.  The  lessee  would  dis- 
possess a  family  for  its  inability  to  meet  the 
raise  in  rent,  the  result  of  his  profiteering. 

Such  a  scalper  controls  the  dwelling  des- 
tinies of  a  hundred  or  more  families.  As  a 
rule,  he  is  an  alien,  sometimes  illiterate  and 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         41 

always  a  detriment  to  the  legitimate  real  es- 
tate agency.  In  all  other  respects  he  is  an 
obscure  individual,  pays  no  income  tax  and  is 
not  required  to  obtain  a  municipal  license  al- 
though theatre-ticket  scalpers  are  required  to 
obtain  such  license  and  R.  R.  ticket  scalpers 
ha\e  been  abolished. 

In  many  instances  the  lessee-scalper  is  in 
collusion  with  an  unscrupulous  owner  of  the 
tenement  or  apartment  house  and  thus  both 
avoid  paying  their  proper  share  of  income  tax. 

There  are  other  evil-doers — embezzlers, 
forgers,  smugglers,  procurers,  blackmailers, 
bank  and  post  office  robbers;  the  states  prisons 
are  full  of  them;  some  are  at  large  and  much 
sought  for  by  the  Sheriff. 

The  retail  saloon,  as  an  institution,  often 
serves  as  a  life-saving  station  or  as  a  tem- 
porary shelter  in  the  rcntlilion  of  first  aid  in 
cases  of  accident  on  an  equality  with  the  drug 
store.  The  proprietors,  as  a  rule,  arc  nicn  of 
families,  members  of  respectable  fraternal 
and  benevolent  societies  and  lodjres  and  are 


42  QUO  WARRANTO 

never  slow  with  their  contributions  for  the 
needy.  The  average  saloonkeeper  is  a  public-' 
spirited  and  law-abiding  citizen  and  is  rarely 
below  this  standard.  He  is  absolutely  the 
equable  of  the  average  groceryman,  butcher, 
clothier,  or  dry  goods  merchant.  The  late 
Frank  Lawler,  native  of  Buffalo,  was  a 
saloonkeeper  in  Chicago  at  the  time  of  his 
election  to  Congress  and  that  gentleman  from 
Illinois  was  re-elected  to  Congress  thrice. 

It  is  argued  with  much  bugaboo  and  many 
hallucinations  that  liquor  is  injurious  if  used 
to  excess.  True.  So  is  every  ingredient,  the 
purest  of  food,  or  any  commodity,  if  indulged 
in  to  excess.  A  dozen  boiled  eggs,  if  eaten  by 
the  same  person  at  one  meal,  will  at  once 
produce  indigestion  and  perhaps  gypsumize 
the  stomach  permanently.  Diabetes  results 
from  excessive  use  of  tea,  coffee  or  soda 
water.  Even  the  excessive  use  of  the  innocent 
lemonade  would  bulge  up  the  system;  fatal 
results  have  been  recorded.  Of  coruse,  it  will 
not  affect  every  system  alike. 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         4;^ 

A  gallon  of  milk  will  not  cure  the  bite  of  a 
rattle-snake,  whereas  a  reasonable  quantity 
of  whiskey  will,  if  taken  timely.  It  stands  to 
reason  that  whiskey  would  expel  the  germs 
and  poisons  from  stale  or  unsterilized  milk  or 
milk  which  frequently  comes  from  diseased 
cattle  and  which  is  the  origin  of  much  illness. 
At  any  rate  alcohol,  if  used  in  moderation,  is 
a  preserver  rather  than  a  destroyer. 

Inebriety,  on  the  whole,  in  the  United  States 
amounts  to  little.  That  which  prevails  exists 
rather  in  the  communities  and  States  tyran- 
nized by  prohibition  law.  These  communities 
are  infested  by  the  leg-pulling  pest  whose 
stock  in  trade  is  the  preaching  of  falsehood 
and  the  prophesying  of  calamities. 

Since  the  enactments,  by  many  Legisla- 
tures, of  parole  and  probation  laws,  this  busi- 
ness has  gotten  to  be  dull.  But  the  greed  for 
money  and  lucrative  income  from  leg-pulling, 
often  a  liberal  contribution  from  a  candidate 
for  a  public  office,  afforded  the  calumny- 
heelers  the  opportunity   for  the   invasion   of 


44  QUO  WARRANTO 

Legislatures  and  Congressional  Halls  and  in 
the  name  of  "religion,"  to  foster  on  the  entire 
country  the  most  successful  "hocus  pocus" 
ever  invented. 

But  the  era  of  devastation  has  actually  ar- 
rived and  there  is  an  organized  crusade  of  de- 
struction. The  American  Wine  Growers'  As- 
sociation shows  that  properties  and  the  fruits 
of  a  life  time  of  honest  toil  (consisting  of 
230,000  acres  of  vineyards  in  California, 
60,000  acres  in  New  York,  10,000  acres  in 
Ohio,  3,000  acres  in  New  Jersey  and  thou- 
sands of  acres  in  other  States)  are  to  be  wiped 
out  with  no  means  of  redress. 

"Therefore  thus  saith  the  Lord,  the  God  of  hosts,  the  Lord: 

Lamentation   shall   be   in  all   the   broad   places, 

And  they  shall  say  in  all  the  thoroughfares:   'Alas,  alas!' 

And  they  shall  call  the  husbandman  to  mourning. 

And  proclaim  lamentation  to  such  as  are  skilful  of  wailing, 

And  in  all  vineyards  shall  be  lamentation; 

For  I  will  pass  through  the  midst  of  thee, 

Saith  the  Lord."— Amos  V,  16-17. 

"And  I  will  rebuke  the  devourer  for  your  good. 
And  he  shall  not  destroy  the  fruits  of  your  land, 
Saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." — Malachi  III,  11. 

But  would  they  not  kindly  allow  a  flask  of 
brandy  to  be  tied  on  a  Bernard  dog  in  search 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         45 

of  an  explorer  lost  in  the  snows  of  Alaska? 

But  they  graciously  prescribe  for  us  Colic- 
ache,  Near-dare,  and  concoctions  to  be  adul- 
terated with  one-half  of  one  per  cent  alcohol. 
Of  this  Moses  the  Lawgiver  sang: 

"For  their  rock   is  not  as  our  Rock, 
Even   our  enemies   themselves  being  judges. 
For  their  vine  is  of  the  vine  of  Sodom. 
And  the  fields  of  Gemorrah; 
Their   grapes   are  grapes  of   gall, 
Their  clusters   are   bitter; 
Their  wine  is  the  venom  of  serpents, 
And    the   cruel    poison    of  asps. 

— Deut.   XXXII,  31-33. 

Public  opinion  voiced  by  the  press  all  over 
the  country,  including  the  liberal  papers  in 
the  prohibition  States,  seems  against  the 
amendment.  The  following  from  an  editorial 
in  the  New  York  World  of  March  15,  1919: 

"How  Prohibition,  war-time  and  by  consti- 
tutional amendment,  has  been  'put  over,'  as 
the  soldiers  returning  from  France  express  it, 
is  explained  to  some  extent  by  the  veracious 
report  from  Washington  showing  by  official 
records  that  large  numbers  of  members  of 
Congress  who  voted  for  these  measures  have 


46  QUO  WARRANTO 

been   prudently   stocking   up   as   against   the 
days  to  come. 

"Prohibition  has  progressed  and  is  soon  to 
become  a  fact  chiefly  for  the  reason  that  those 
who  have  given  their  support  to  it  in  response 
to  sectarian  intimidation  have  generally  seen 
some  means  of  escape  for  themselves.  All  the 
early  methods  of  evasion  having  been  penal- 
ized one  by  one  by  a  persistent  lobby,  and  the 
intolerance  having  been  extended  to  Nation- 
wide outlawry  of  liquor,  wine  and  beer,  the 
pious  recourse  of  the  very  men  responsible 
for  these  laws  is  found  in  the  purchase  of 
quantities  of  intoxicants  to  be  privately  held 
and  used,  in  the  belief  that  before  the  exhaus- 
tion of  the  supply  there  will  be  a  change  of 
some  kind  in  the  laws  which  they  have  enacted 
for  the  government  of  others. 

"With  nothing  to  go  upon  but  this  and  the 
faithful  dependence  that  many  of  our  South- 
em  Prohibitionists  place  upon  the  moonshin- 
ers, it  is  readily  to  be  seen  that  the  issue  is  ap- 
proaching   a    crisis.      Organized    hypocrisy, 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         47 

piously  voting  for  Prohibition  under  tlic  lash 
of  the  lobby  but  drinking  whiskey  all  the  time 
and  making  expensive  arrangements  for  fu- 
ture needs,  is  nearing  its  last  ditch.  In  due 
time  it  will  be  confronted  by  its  own  enact- 
ments. 

"Prohibition  has  been  decreed  for  the 
United  States  by  men  who  have  never  ac- 
cepted and  do  not  now  accept  the  doctrine  for 
themselves.  How  long  can  such  phariseeism 
last?" 

In  the  state  of  New  York,  and  the  same  is 
true  in  many  other  States,  two  Senators,  whose 
votes  were  necessary  to  make  up  a  ratification- 
quorum  publicly  avowed  that  their  "con- 
science" and  the  interests  of  their  respective 
constituents  are  against  ratification.  Yet  they 
voted  for  the  measure  against  their  will  and 
convictions  and  bragged  at  their  impunity  be- 
cause it  was  a  "party"  measure. 

"These  are  the  tliirins  that  ye  sliall  do:  Speak  ye 
every  man  the  truth  with  his  neiphhor;  execute  the 
judfinK-nt  of  truth  and  peace  in  your  gates;  and  let 
none  of  you  devise  evil  apainst  his  neiphl)our;  and 
love  no  false  oath;  for  all  these  are  things  that  I  hale, 
saith  the  I>ord.'*— Zech.   VIII, 16-17. 


48  QUO  WARRANTO 

According  to  a  dispatch  from  Albany,  re- 
ported in  the  public  press  February  21,  1919, 
the  prohibition  conspirators  expect  to  enroll 
500,000  spies  necessary,  in  addition  to  regu- 
lar official  employees,  to  enforce  Prohibition 
legislation.  Their  business  would,  naturally, 
consist  of  invading  synagogues,  cathedrals, 
temples  and  consecrated  edifices  as  well  as  the 
home,  with  or  without  search  warrants  to  dis- 
cover the  "contraband." 

"For  ask  now  of  the  days  past,  which  were  before 
thee,  since  the  day  that  God  created  man  upon  the 
earth,  and  from  the  one  end  of  heaven  unto  the 
other,  whether  there  hath  been  any  such  thing  as 
this  great  [evil]  thing  is,  or  hath  been  heard  like 
it!"— Deut.  IV,  32. 

On  the  day  after  the  Proclamation  of  the  al- 
leged ratification  of  the  Prohibition  Amend- 
ment, an  Octogenarian  teacher  and  American 
prince  of  the  Catholic  Church  was  openly 
abused  and  insulted  for  his,  to  be  sure,  sound 
opinion,  by  the  Prohibition  charlatans. 

"Thou  shalt  rise  up  before  the  hoary  head,  and 
honour  the  face  of  the  old  man,  and  thou  shalt 
fear  thy  God:  I  am  the  Lord." — Levit.  XIX,  32. 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         49 

It  is  hardly  called  for  to  resort  to  the  good 
Book  for  the  substantial  benefits  of  wines, 
brandies  and  malt  liquors.  Yet  it  is  neces- 
sary to  expose,  in  self  defence,  the  hypocrisy 
of  certain  "church"  workers  who  under  the 
mantle  of  "religion"  successfully  humbugged 
their  innocent  adherents,  resulting  in  disturb- 
ing the  peace,  upsetting  commerce  and  revo- 
Jutionizing  the  system  of  Federal  and  State 
and  Municipal  revenue. 

To  term  it,  as  some  perhaps  do,  a  Bolshevik 
measure  is  a  serious  insult  to  the  Bolsheviki. 
The  latter  are  but  the  direct  evolution  and  the 
fruit  of  the  late  Czar's  Prohibition  Ukase 
cunningly  perpetrated  by  his  Kaiser  cousin. 
It  was  the  voice  of  Czarism  but  the  hand  of 
Kaiserism,  and  resulted  in  making  the  very 
largest  and  one  of  the  strongest  dynasties,  es- 
tablished upwards  of  a  thousand  years,  im- 
potent and  "caput"!  This  treacherous  cun- 
ningncss  reacted  and  devoured  also  the  perpe- 
trator. Bolli  dug  iheir  own  graves.  The  pro- 
hibition propagandists,  distinguished  from  ad- 


50  QUO  WARRANTO 

vocates  of  temperance,  make  up  an  American 
Bolshevism  of  which  the  average  Russian  Bol- 
shevik would  be  much  ashamed.  Whatever 
the  latter  do,  they  do  not  falsify  the    Bible. 

No  sooner  was  the  price  of  liquor  advanced 
owing  to  war  conditions,  affording  the  people 
the  lesser  use  thereof,  the  influenza  epidemic 
spread  and  left  many  vacant  chairs  in  homes 
throughout  the  United  States.  The  physicians 
freely  prescribed  whiskey  as  a  cure  and  the 
plague  reasonably  abated. 

The  same  condition  prevailed  in  England. 
Thereupon  the  British  government,  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  public  health,  released  50  per 
cent  of  all  the  liquor  which  had  been,  as  a  war 
measure,  withheld  from  the  market,  and  it 
too  restored  the  people  to  their  health. 

The  Scotchmen  use  perhaps  more  liquor 
per  person  than  any  other  people  and  they 
are  one  of  the  healthiest  types  of  the  human 
race.  Tuberculosis  is  almost  unknown  to  the 
Scot.  But  the  Scotchmen  must  be  particularly 
admired  for  their  soberness. 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         51 

At  family  reunions,  weddings,  alumni  re- 
pasts and  many  other  social  affairs,  short  of 
the  Cognac  appetizer  and  the  chill-expelling 
Cordial,  matters  around  the  pop  bottle  would 
have  a  melancholic  appearance. 

Wines  and  invigorating  cordials  have 
adorned  the  dining  tables  and  been  used  as  a 
beverage  in  the  exchange  of  New  Year  greet- 
ing and  inaugural  receptions  tendered  to  or 
given  by  an  array  of  Presidents  at  the  White 
House  and  Governors  in  the  respective  State 
Mansions. 

At  the  time  of  the  ploclamation  of  the  al- 
leged ratification  of  the  Prohibition  Amend- 
ment, duly  recognized  representatives-in-chief 
of  many,  if  not  all,  civilized  nations,  laboring 
for  universal  peace  and  perpetual  amity,  in 
tlie  presence  of  our  Mr.  President,  offered 
truly  sincere  toasts  for  the  prosperity,  and  in 
honor,  of  the  Government  and  to  the  glory  of 
the  people  of  the  United  States  on  a  cup  of 
wine. 


52  QUO  WARRANTO 

The  grand  patriotic  (in  name)  National 
Security  League,  incorporated,  in  which  a 
Congressional  investigation  disclosed  some 
dangerous  blackmailing  schemes  who  drew  in 
their  net  highly  honest  and  respectable  per- 
sonages in  the  nation  and  gained  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Government.  Might  not  the  pro- 
hibition propaganda,  considering  the  time, 
condition,  circumstances  surrounding  and 
connected  with  them,  their  lobbying  and  the 
very  large  amount  of  money  which  facilitates 
this  and  the  maintaining  of  secretaries  and 
high  salaried  officials  throughout  the  land 
without  "pecuniary"  motives.  Might  not  this 
propaganda  have  its  origin  in  a  public  enemy! 

A  silent  partner  of  the  prohibition  movers, 
^vho  turned  out  to  be  one  of  the  champions-in- 
chief,  once  did  his  utmost  to  foster  a  Mexican 
currency  system  on  the  United  States.  There- 
with he  quadrennially  disorganized  a  major 
political  party  at  least  thrice. 

Next  he  made  himself  the  charitable  discre- 
tionary executor  of  a  "friend's"  will  involving 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIOiNAL  ERA         53 

a  very  large  estate  situated  more  than  one 
and  one-half  thousand  miles  east  of  his  domi- 
cile. After  a  hot  contest  the  Supreme  Tri- 
bunal of  the  State  wherein  the  estate  was  situ- 
ated declared  the  will  a  buhle  and  as  much  of 
a  legal  trash  as  the  Prohibition  Amendment 
ever  was  or  is  going  to  turn  out  to  be  eventu- 
ally. 

At  the  most  critical  and  inopportune  mom- 
ent in  the  annals  of  the  United  States  he  re- 
signs the  Secretaryship  of  State,  the  piratical 
sinking  of  the  Lusilania  and  a  thousaml  and 
one  other  outrages  of  kultur  notwithstanding. 

The  statistic  factory  at  Westerville  claims 
that  drunkenness  is  the  cause  for  many  di- 
vorces. Since  in  the  State  of  New  York 
drunkenness  is  no  cause  for  divorce  the  ques- 
tion is,  "Where  does  the  Westerville  factory 
get  the  raw  material  essential  for  th<>  bain- 
boozl  i  n g  bom  ba  rd  ment  ?  " 

The  Reno  divorces  were  granted  at  one  time 
to  all  those  who  could  afford  to  go  there.  The 
grounds  were  invariably  desertion.  In  most 
cases  [\\crr  was  no  lime  to  i^ct  drunk. 


54  QUO  WARRANTO 

In  some  States,  for  instance  Illinois,  habit- 
ual drunkenness  for  the  space  of  two  years,  of 
which  the  defendant  must  be  guilty  is  a 
ground  for  divorce. 

Some  printed  bills  for  divorce  are  filed  in 
Courts  setting  forth  all  the  grounds  mentioned 
in  the  statute;  it  there  becomes  a  matter  for 
evidence  upon  which  of  the  grounds  a  decree 
shall  enter  if  the  complainant  is  so  entitled. 
A  divorce  on  the  ground  of  habitual  drunken- 
ness for  the  space  of  two  years  is  as  rare  as 
is  an  actual  death  from  delirium  tremens,  the 
ratio  of  which  is  less  than  one  in  a  hundred. 

Official  data  from  the  U.  S.  Census  Bureau 
concerning  the  number  of  divorces  covering 
the  calender  year  1916,  shows: 

Entire  number  of  divorces  granted,  112,036.  Of 
eyery  100,000  population  112  divorces  were  had. 
To  husbands  were  granted  31,1  percent.  To  wives 
the  numerical  per  cent,  v/as  68,9.  The  causes  were 
as  follows:  Desertion,  36,8;  Cruelty,  28,3;  Infi- 
delity, 11,5;  Non-support,  4,7;  Drunkenness,  3,4; 
Combination  of  preceding  causes,  8,6  and  other 
causes  6,7  per  cent. 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         55 

The  claim  that  thirty  per  cent  of  the  people 
are    prohibitionists    is   unfounded.      Opining 
from  the  votes  at  Presidential  elections,  five! 
per  cent  is  perhaps  the  very  highest  figure.' 
The  honest  prohibitionist  would  hardly  tres- 
pass on  the  liberty  of  the  liberal  neighbor. 

But  anything  from  the  Westerville  Soviet  is 
as  sacred  as  that  from  Sinai.  The  following 
transpired  in  a  Chicago  Court  March  7,  1919, 
at  a  regular  session  before  Justice  Gemmill: 

The  respondent — "I  don't  chew,  drink  or  smoke, 
and  ouside  of  beating  my  wife  twice  a  day  I  am  the 
best  husband  in  the  world." 

The  Judge — "I  don't  think  so  much  of  you.  Stay 
away  from  your  wife;  pay  her  S15  a  week  and  fine 
of  one  hundred  dollars  and  costs." 

In  the  meantime  war  prohibition  is  at  the 
threshold.  The  enactment  must  be  searched 
in  a  bill  the  title  of  which  implies  not  its  ob- 
ject. Congress  was  never  given  any  such  pow- 
ers. Tlie  President,  in  his  capacity  of  Com- 
mander-in-Chief of  the  Army  and  Navy  might 
make  such  order  as  a  war  measure.  But  the 
facts  are,  although  the  United  States  was  at 


56  QUO  WARRANTO 

war  yet  there  was  never  war  in  the  United 
States.  All  the  war  there  was  in  the  United 
States  consisted  of  maneuvers  for  fat  Govern- 
ment contracts,  and  battles  in  gabbing,  schem- 
ing, profiteering,  electioneering,  slackeering 
and  conscientious  objectioneering  added  to  the 
raising  in  price  of  onions,  sugar,  milk,  eggs, 
shoes,  shirts,  rent  and  railroad  fare.  There 
was  not  even  as  much  as  martial  law  in  any 
part  of  the  United  States.  The  only  calamity 
about  to  befall  us  was  the  attempt  to  destroy 
our  Central  Park  which  was  frustrated,  thanks 
to  the  vigorous  efforts  of  The  New  York 
Times.  Upon  the  call  of  the  trumpet  response 
was  had  with  men,  money,  and  material,  and 
every  loyal  citizen  should  congratulate  him- 
self upon  the  greatness  of  this  our  Republic. 

"For  the  stuff  they  had  was  sufiGcient  for  all  the 
work  to  make  it,  and  too  much." — Ex.  XXXVI,  7. 

Under  a  title  foreign  to  the  subject  the  Pro- 
hibition provision  was  carried  in  Congress  un- 
der the  pretenses  of  it  being  a  war  emergency 
matter  although  at  that  time  an  armistice  had 
been  arranged,  upon  our  own  terms,  and  hos- 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         57 

lilities  ceased.  The  provision  was  known  as  a 
"rider,"  or  "joker,"  When  exposed,  the  au- 
thors of  the  scheme  boasted  of  their  cunning 
in  overreaching  the  people. 

Four  hundred  union  delegates,  represent- 
ing 150,000  laboring  men  from  all  parts  of 
the  State  of  New  Jersey,  met  at  the  City  of 
Newark,  March  16,  1919,  and  adopted  reso- 
lutions protesting  against  the  Prohibition 
Act.  The  Mayor  and  City  Commissioners  of 
Newark  joined  in  the  protest.  The  resolution 
attacked  those  responsible  for  the  Prohibition 
Amendment  as  having  brought  about  an  era 
of  intolerance. 

Prohibition  (radicalism)  versus  Soundness 
and  Freedom  (conservatism)  is  to  form  the  is- 
sue at  the  1920  Presidential  election.  Owing 
to  votes  of  women  the  former  expects  to  lure 
the  ladies  into  the  net  of  their  holy  hollowness. 
But  the  WOMANLY  WOMAN,  like  the  manly 
MAN,  is  not  going  to  be  a  party  to  the  destruc- 
tion and  mischief  of  kultur.  The  woman 
voter,  as  well  as  the  man  voter,  knows  what 
is  good  for  her  and  best  for  the  majority. 


58  QUO  WARRANTO 

None  are  going  to  help  boycott  the  Constitu- 
tion and  assist  the  leg-pullers  into  office  to  tax 
their  shoes  and  their  shawls,  their  bread  and 
their  salt  instead  of  liquor  which  no  one  is 
bound  to  use  if  he  does  not  wish  to. 

Let  the  Prohibition  Kleptomaniacs  answer 
this:  Because  many  a  vessel  sinks  and  trains 
sometimes  collide  resulting  in  considerable 
loss  of  life,  are  we  to  prohibit  shipbuilding 
and  railroad  construction?  Because  someone 
falls  from  a  roof,  or  selects  a  roof  to  jump 
from  in  order  to  commit  suicide,  are  we  to 
build  and  reside  in  roofless  houses?  At  any 
rate  Andersonian  kleptomania  is  about  on  the 
level  with  Oslerian  viciousness. 

In  the  "Annals  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion," compiled  by  Rev.  Jedediah  Morse,  D. 
D.,  published  in  Hartford,  1824,  the  follow- 
ing is  made  an  integral  part  of  American 
History: 

"April  18,  1783 — The  Commander  in  Chief 
[General  George  Washington]  thus  addressed 
the  army  on  the  cessation  of  hostilities: 

".  .  .The  glorious  task  for  which  we  first 


THE  UNCONSTITUTIONAL  ERA         59 

flew  to  arms,  being  thus  accomplished,  ,  .  . 
nothing  now  remains  but  for  the  actors  of  this 
mighty  scene  to  preserve  a  perfect,  unvarying 
consistency  of  character  through  the  very  last 
act;  to  close  the  drama  with  applause,  and  to 
retire  from  the  military  theatre  with  the  same 
approbation  of  angels  and  men,  which  have 
crowned  all  their  former  virtuous  actions.  .  .  . 
"The  Adjutant-General  will  have  such  work- 
ing parties  detailed  to  assist  in  making  the 
preparation  for  a  general  rejoicing  as  the  chief 
engineer  of  the  army  shall  call  for,  and  the 
Quartermaster-General  will  also  furnish  such 
materials  as  he  may  want.  .  .  . 

"an  extra  ration  of  liquor  to  be  issued 
to  every  man  tomorrow  to  drink  perpet- 
ual peace,  independencr-:  and  happiness  to 
THE  United  States  of  America." 
The    Prohibition    Amendment    is    not    an 
amendment  lo  The  Atlanta  Constitution,  nor 
to  the  Constitution  of  the  Lime-Kiln  Club,  nor 
to    the    By-Laws    of    the    National    Security 
League,  incorporated.     It  is  most  certainly  in- 
tended for  an  Amendment  to  The  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  which  is  by  itself  a  sacred 
instiiulion.     Other  Governments  are  copying 


60  QUO  WARRANTO 

our  Constitution  as  a  model  for  their  own.  It 
must  not  be  mutilated,  it  must  be  lasting  and 
everlasting.  The  amendment  seems  consti- 
tutionally unconstitutional. 
*What  is  Just  and  Right  Is  the  Law  of  Laws.^' 
At  common  law,  traffic  in  intoxicating  liq- 
uors was  a  lawful  business.  It  was  first  taxed 
by  Congress  to  provide  a  revenue  for  the  pros- 
ecution of  the  Civil  War.  When  our  immor- 
tal President  Lincoln  reluctantly  approved  the 
bill  he  thus  said,  in  substance:  "Whiskey  is 
the  poor  man's  drink;  I  sign  this  bill  with  the 
understanding  that  it  is  a  temperary  measure 
and  that  the  tax  will  come  off  after  the  war." 

"Go  thy  way,  eat  thy  bread  with  joy. 
And  drink  thy  wine  with  a  merry  heart; 
For  God  hath  already  accepted  thy  words." 

— Eccl.  IX,  7. 


CHAPTER  X 

Ratification 

Must  be  Had  by 

Legislature  and  Also  by  the  People 

Regardless  of  Referendum 

The  Tenth  Amendment  to  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  Stales  provides:  "The  powers 
not  delegated  to  the  United  States  by  the  Con- 
stitution, nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  States  are 
reserved  to  the  States  respectively  or  to  the 

PEOPLE." 

That  Article  does  not  reserve  anything  to 
the  Legislatures  of  the  States  but  reserves  ev- 
erything to  the  STATES  or  to  the  people, 
meaning  the  States  and  the  people  thereof. 
This  is  in  complete  harmony  with  the  Pream- 
ble, "we,  the  people  .  .  .  do  ordain," 
etc. 

61 


62  QUO  WARRANTO 

Article  V  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  in  conjunction  with  the  Amendment  X 
thereof  expressly  requires  ratification  by  both 
the  legislatures  and  the  people  of  the  States  to 
give  validity  and  virtue  to  a  new  amendment. 

The  modes  required  for  ratification  of 
Amendments  must  not  be  confused.  By  Ar- 
ticle V,  ratification  by  the  Legislatures  was  at 
one  time,  perhaps  sufficient.  But  since  the  pas- 
sage of  the  IXth  and  Xth  Amendments,  an  ad- 
ditional requirement  has  been  expressly  or- 
dained— ratification  by  the  people  _also. 
Since  that  time  a  properly  proposed  amend- 
ment must  be  ratified  by  the  legislatures  and 
the  PEOPLE  of  the  several  States  in  order  to 
give  it  constitutional  validity. 

States  having  referendum  provisions  in 
their  respective  Constitutions  have  still  an- 
other condition  on  constitutional  questions  to 
fulfill,  i.  e.,  the  requirement  of  ratification  by 
the  people  by  more  than  a  mere  majority  of 
votes  depending  on,  or  in  accordance  with  the 
various  numerical  strengths  of  majorities 
called  for  by  the  laws  of  those  States. 


REGARDLESS  OF  REFERENDUM         63 

"It  must  be  borne  in  mind  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  is  not  a  compact  of  States, 
but  a  frame  of  government,  made  by  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States.  The  States  as  such, 
are  no  parties  to  it;  they  were  expressly  ex- 
cluded. Their  continued  existence  is,  indeed, 
contemplated;  and  their  action  is,  in  some 
cases,  essential  to  the  proper  and  complete  op- 
eration of  the  general  government.  But  in 
such  cases  the  people  have  made  it  their  duty 
to  act,  and  have  not  given  them  control  over 
the  federal  government.  Nor  are  the  States 
in  any  danger  from  this  construction.  The 
right  of  the  people,  to  overturn  an  oppressive 
government,  or  refuse  submission  to  it,  lies  at 
the  foundation  of  our  political  existence;  and 
can  never  be  taken  away  by  any  form  of  gov- 
ernment. But  anything  short  of  this  will  not 
justify  resistance  to  constitutional  authority." 
— James  Bayard,  Philadelphia,  1834. 

A  ministerial  duty,  the  performance  of 
which  may  be  required  of  the  head  of  a  de- 
partment of  government,  by  judicial  pro- 
cess, is  one  in  respect  to  which  nothing  is  left 


64  QUO  WARRANTO 

to  discretion.  It  is  a  simple,  definite  duty, 
arising  under  conditions  admitted  or  proved 
to  exist,  and  imposed  by  law.  A  failure  to 
execute  the  process  would  put  the  official  in 
contempt  of  Court. 

But  failure  to  comply  with  a  non- judicial 
process  would  subject  the  official  to  be  made 
a  respondent  in  mandamus.  In  the  latter 
event  a  valid  explanation  for  the  non-compli- 
ance would  result  in  quashing  the  writ  of  man- 
damus. 

In  the  matter  of  the  Prohibition  Amend- 
ment credit  must  be  accorded  our  Acting  Sec- 
retary of  State  for  his  prompt  compliance  in 
the  issuing  of  the  certificate  announcing  that 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  has  been 
"amended"  by  Article  XVIII. 

Now  that  defects  have  been  pointed  out 
that  the  Amendment  is  wholly  irregular,  that 
it  cannot  stand  the  test  of  a  mere  demurrer  it 
would  justify  the  Secretary  to  rescind  the 
certificate  and  withdraw  the-  proclamation. 

There  is  no  precedent  to  the  contrary.  If 
the  Amendment  is  contrary  to  the  Constitu- 


REGARDLESS  OF  REFERENDUM         65 

tion  all  must  legally  assist  in  annulling  it  and 
the  first  duty  falls  on  the  Department  of  State. 
The  Amendment  is  not  in  effect  as  yet,  it 
will  not  be  until  next  year,  therefore  the  De- 
partment still  retains  jurisdiction. 

Because  the  interest  involved  are  so  vast 
and  are  coupled  with  disturbances  in  com- 
merce, industry,  and  peace  and  would  result 
in  injuries  irreparable. 

Moreover,  if  this  Amendment  stands  other 
sections  and  articles  in  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  referred  to  in  this  treatise  ap- 
pear to  stand  repealed  by  implication.  That 
is  to  say  the  Prohibition  Amendment  super- 
sedeases all  the  articles,  sections  and  clauses 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  cited 
in  this  book  and  which  is  as  revolutionary  as 
it  is  all  wrong. 

Why  foster  strife  and  contention  in  the  in- 
ternal affairs  of  the  States  and  the  People 
forming  the  Union  of  the  United  States! 

"This  Union,"  in  the  language  of  Washing- 
ton's farewell  address,  "is  a  main  pillar  in 
the  edifice  of  our  real  independence,"  the  sup- 


66  QUO  WARRANTO 

port  of  our  tranquillity  at  home;  our  peace 
abroad,  of  our  safety;  of  our  prosperity;  of 
that  very  liberty  which  we  so  highly  prize.  It 
is  of  infinite  moment  that  we  should  properly 
estimate  the  immense  value  of  our  national 
union  to  our  collective  and  individual  hap- 
piness; that  we  should  cherish  a  cordial,  hab- 
itual and  immovable  attachment  to  it;  accus- 
toming ourselves  to  think  and  speak  of  it,  as 
of  the  palladium  of  our  political  safety  and 
prosperity;  watching  for  its  preservation  with 
jealous  anxiety;  discountenancing  whatever 
may  suggests  even  a  suspicion  that  it  can,  in 
any  event,  be  abandoned;  and  indignantly 
frowning  upon  the  first  dawning  of  every  at- 
tempt to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country 
from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties 
which  now  link  together  the  various  parts." 

"And   all    the    People    shall    Answer    and    Say:    Amen." 

"In  (Bab  We  JUruat." 

AMEN. 


MO  4    419 


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